Today, Umair Haque put a question on twitter that made me remember some common observations when we are faced with a problem:

“Are we still of the belief that “if you have no solutions, you should keep your mouth shut”? Is that a wise idea for learning and knowledge?“

And what about, if facing a problem, we start by postponing the trial of ideas, and we launch into the air, along with others, a reasonable number of new ideas?

So maybe, in a conversation at a time and visualizung those ideas we can build something new based on ideas of others but keeping us on the topic of the problem.

Ah! And already now encourage wild ideas, crazy and nonsensical because the solution can be there!

Now that the time has come to select ideas, let’s use contrasting selection criteria in order to preserve innovation, that is, so we don’t end up only with safe bets or long-distance guesses, but with a combination of ideas of what is possible with a view to the future.

-“What can we do with what we know or what we did before, that may have value?”Lavoie

-Certainly it is not to stay with the mouth closed!

We know that businesses and society generally, like ideas ranging from A to B in a logical sequence of reasoning where uncertainty causes headaches though it is a fundamental characteristic of the days in which we live.

So we must think in provide persons and organizations, systematic ways to search for patterns and relationships in a large number of different variables, including conflicting data, ambiguous or even paradoxical.

I think it is important to create white spaces where all people in an organization can open his mouth even if that means throwing the uncertainty.

Using the patterns and relationships found in the diversity of ideas presented in an organization or ecosystem it is possible to generate a set of principles that increase the likelihood of success when we face challenges that seem to shake for being complex or because their dynamics and so strong that we see as ambiguous.

“In order to achieve a balance of resources that lends itself to dealing ably with uncertainty, businesses need to have the flexibility and creativity to adjust, to renew their market position, to fund intangible values that shore up the human intelligence that drives their enterprise…

Uncertainty is important, because it is not always what it seems. The instability it seems to suggest can also be an opportunity for growth, evolution, innovation. And a shifting landscape of influence and competition can allow for concurrent evolutions and innovations that support and sustain one’s own new models and methods…

Diversity of resources and of opportunity must be one of the assets built into any successful enterprise, along with the intellectual and strategic agility necessary for keeping afloat in periodically rough seas.” – Joseph Robertson

In a sea of uncertainty, where diversity exists it may be the best way to express new ideas and create new knowledge and encourage learning.

If we do not have solutions we need to ask “what if …”?

If we do not have solutions we must abandon the certainties and embrace the doubts!

If we do not have solutions we must question the assumptions!

If we do not have solutions we must meet with people who think different from what we think!

If we do not have solutions we must re-examine the problems!

If we do not have solutions we must identify that actors who are manifested in the problem and what is after all their roler!

If we do not have solutions we will work seriously and hard to the find it!

If we do not have solutions we can’t ignore the problem because this is the best way to turn the complex into complicated!

One Response to Some things cause so much astonishment that delay the solution of the problem

I think the idea of certainty is an illusion, a way to make us feel safe in our decisions, planning, etc. I believe when problems arise that are highly unexpected that hopefully people take notice in how they react. It is uncertainty that is reliable, and to live with the notion of uncertainty, coupled with a business culture that nurtures and promotes sharing ideas, the combination will allow ideas to flow in a safe environment. And, eventually, a collective generated solution will rise to the top. Thats a highly probable outcome…I’m “almost” certain, in theory and practice, great ideas arise from people who feel safe to play with different thoughts, tossing them around like footballs, unafraid they may be unaccepted, judged or ignored. Adults need to return to their child mindset…fearless and imaginative collaboration in safe environments. Uncertainty is the catalyst, I believe, to this kind of creative thinking and solution attainment. Like water, everything is constantly changing, is never certain. Assumptions are anchors that need to be lifted, done much easier by individuals that celebrate in their differences. That is true collective intelligence! Great post!